Security Breach

Send us Fan Mail While there are plenty of unknowns when it comes to protecting the OT attack surface, there are some things that are undeniably true. We know that the frequency of attacks will continue to increase. We know that it’s not if your ICS will be probed, but when. And we also know that asset and connection visibility is an ongoing challenge due to the implementation of more automated te...

Send us Fan Mail Maybe you’re sick of hearing about phishing schemes and the way hackers are using this strategy to infiltrate your networks, access intellectual data, shut down production, or hold your assets for ransom. If that’s the case, then you’ve made a lot of hackers very happy. And based on Proofpoint’s 2024 State of Phish report, protecting against phishing schemes is simply not being re...

Send us Fan Mail So, my daughters like to give me a hard time about growing old.  Said another way, I’m a legacy asset - just like most of the devices many of you observe, manage and secure every day. Your machines are still in place because they work. While the technology around these assets has evolved, their core functionality and value to the production process has remained constant.  But as s...

Send us Fan Mail While the justifications for additional cybersecurity spending is easy to explain, getting buy-in at the C-level can be difficult. However, some recent research might help you win over those controlling the purse strings. SonicWall’s Mid-Year Cyber Threat Report found that their firewalls were under attack 125 percent of the time during a 40-hour work week. And if that doesn’t get...

Send us Fan Mail One of the most common topics we explore here on Security Breach is the ongoing challenge of asset visibility in the OT landscape. It's frustrating because it would seem that the solution starts with basic inventory management approaches, i.e. the first step in developing frameworks and plans for everything from tool selection to attack response. Of course, this is never simp...

Send us Fan Mail According to Veeam’s 2024 Ransomware Trends Report, cyber victims stated that they were unable to restore 43 percent of whatever data was affected by ransomware attacks. This reaffirms what a number of Security Breach guests have stated about trusting hackers after paying their extortion demands.  Another finding shows that 63 percent of ransomware attack victims restored the comp...

Send us Fan Mail The ongoing theme in industrial cybersecurity centers on two competing dynamics – the desire to expand our implementation of automation and Industry 4.0 technologies with the goal of using more and faster connections, along with the decision-making data each generates to improve the efficiency and quality of production. However, these goals now need to be counter-balanced against...

Send us Fan Mail We’re back to discuss an all-too-familiar topic – ransomware. Ironically enough, it seems the topics we describe in this manner become so familiar because we can’t figure out viable, long-term solutions. I think part of the challenge for industrial organizations dealing with ransomware is that we have to divide our energy and resources between prevention, detection and response. A...

Send us Fan Mail A smarter, well-funded hacker community means embracing basic, yet daunting cyber challenges. In manufacturing, regardless of your role, avoiding downtime is an obvious priority, and one of the motivating factors driving investments in cybersecurity. In working to mitigate potential DDoS attacks or malware drops, manufacturers are tapping into more resources in heightening their a...

Send us Fan Mail Sophos recently reported that 65 percent of manufacturing and production organizations were hit by ransomware last year, which, unlike other sectors, is an increase. Overall, these attacks have increased by 41 percent for manufacturing since 2020. Additionally, the cybersecurity firm found that 44 percent of computers used in manufacturing have been impacted by a ransomware attack...

Send us Fan Mail I recently watched an interesting documentary called Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War on Netflix. Great watch – I’d highly recommend it. Essentially it positioned nearly every prominent geo-political event since World War II as fallout from the U.S. dropping the nuclear bomb on Japan to end World War II. Similarly, we can look at a number of recent, major cybersecurity eve...

Send us Fan Mail When I was a kid, we always looked forward to my dad’s work picnic. He was a tool and dye maker for a leading caster manufacturer that would rent out a local park, make a ton of food and put on various games and activities for the families. One of the highlights of this day was a softball game pitting the office versus the shop. The good-natured shots that were fired across the du...

Send us Fan Mail An ethical cyber researcher breaks down the 'tsunami of exposed data' he continues to uncover. When it comes to solving industrial cybersecurity's biggest challenges, I think we have to continue to ask questions that simultaneously tackle basic blocking and tackling concerns, as well as those that lead to bad news. Both prevent us from putting our heads in the sand...

Send us Fan Mail The landscape of industrial cybersecurity continues to change and evolve, and demands a vigilant monitoring of the next threat, vulnerability or potential soft spot in our defenses. That’s why we continue to produce Security Breach , and, by the way, continue to be so appreciative of the growth and support we’ve received from each of you. That said, once in a while it’s good to ta...

Send us Fan Mail According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report , nearly 20 percent of the organizations surveyed stated that they have experienced a breach stemming from a compromise in their supply chain, or a vulnerability related to it. The average cost of these breaches was estimated at just under $4.5 million. Their data also found that attacks emanating from the supply chain had a longer l...

Send us Fan Mail Due to the rise in attacks on manufacturing and critical infrastructure, and the devasting impacts these attacks have on daily lives around the world, the World Economic Form recently unveiled a report entitled Building a Culture of Cyber Resilience in Manufacturing .  This initiative not only identified the sector’s primary challenges for developing a culture of cyber resilience,...

Send us Fan Mail When looking at industrial cybersecurity, more attention is being paid to how workers are logging in to access critical machinery, software or data. And according to Trustwave Threat Intelligence’s recent Manufacturing Threat Landscape report, 45 percent of attacks experienced by manufacturers stemmed from the bad guys accessing credentials. Whether by utilizing brute-force tactic...

Send us Fan Mail As we’ve discussed numerous times on Security Breach , terms like change, evolution and constant are more than just buzz terms – they’re a simple reality of working in the industrial OT space. Whether we’re discussing threat actors from Stuxnet to Lockbit, tactics from social engineering to double-extortion ransomware, or vulnerability sources ranging from weak passwords to embedd...

Send us Fan Mail Over the last nearly 100 episodes of Security Breach we’ve discussed a wide range of strategies for protecting the manufacturing enterprise. But perhaps the most polarizing of these has been Zero Trust. While some unwaveringly champion the cause of this approach, others question the ways in which it is typically deployed. Perhaps this dichotomy is best represented in Palo Alto and...

Send us Fan Mail One of the more common obstacles that we discuss here on Security Breach is how increased connectivity has combined with new Industry 4.0 technologies to constantly expand the OT attack surface. In the midst of all this expansion, it’s easy to either overlook cybersecurity concerns, or put too much trust in the embedded security features of the new assets.  So, while this usually...

Send us Fan Mail Those of you with a military or law enforcement connection are probably, and unfortunately, familiar with the term collateral damage. While this phrase has a legacy in these environments, it’s also become an unwelcome addition to the realm of cybersecurity. Examples of this dynamic can be found in a number of hacktivist attacks that targeted infrastructure in a certain region, but...

Send us Fan Mail Viewing hacks as diseases to address evolving threats, vulnerabilities and tools like AI. Like many of you, I recently dove into Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR ) .  And while there’s a plethora of data housed in the report that could fuel conversations on a multitude of topics, I chose the following two pieces of information: While credential harvesting and...

Send us Fan Mail It starts with a dedication to enhanced visibility. One of the big conversations regarding OT security revolves around the use of tools. Some have too many, others not enough and everyone is searching for the funds to mange and obtain the right ones for a constantly evolving threat landscape. The key to understanding which tools are right for you and your organization not only dem...

Send us Fan Mail Many attacks on manufacturers are just the first step in going after even bigger targets. One of the inescapable truths about the industrial sector is that it is usually the ultimate proving ground for product performance. When we look at some of the technologies that have created seismic social shifts, tools like operational software, wireless connectivity and numerous monitoring...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we dive into some of the most notorious attacks to hit manufacturing over the last six months. In addition to speaking with cybersecurity experts from around the world for this podcast, I’ve also been able to do a fair amount of reporting on our websites regarding several high-profile industrial attacks. So, I felt like it could be interesting to present some of t...